Chapter 6: Strengthening International Trade and Sustainable Development Goal No. 5: Relationship Between Gender Diversity and Creativity in Selected Women-Owned Informal Small Businesses in Africa

The post-pandemic business landscape in Africa has recently been characterised by issues with international trade and business effectiveness, a lack of employee creativity and various diversity challenges. These issues continue to spark public discussion, concern and scientific interest due to their negative impacts, especially on Sustainable Development Goal 5. The coronavirus pandemic has also intensified these concerns, with small businesses struggling to find ways to boost creativity and enhance international trade. Therefore, this chapter investigates gender diversity and organisational creativity in selected women-owned informal small businesses in Lagos State, Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy. The study utilised a survey research design. It specifically examines women-owned businesses in Lagos State, Nigeria, which were chosen as the target demographic. A total of 497 enterprises engaged in foreign commerce were randomly selected for the study. Analysis was conducted on 480 completed questionnaires, which were returned and accounted for, resulting in an impressive response rate of 97.76%. The data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics, specifically simple linear regression. The findings indicate that gender diversity has a significant impact on organisational creativity (β = −0.092, t = −2.710, R² = 0.020, p < 0.05) in selected women-owned informal small businesses in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study concluded that owner-managers of small businesses should prioritise gender diversity and organisational creativity as factors that can enhance workplace diversity and international trade. Consequently, the study recommends that owner-managers foster peaceful coexistence and participation among employees, regardless of gender to improve organisational creativity and international trade.